HCMC approves $81 mln flood-prevention project to dredge major canal

Part of the Hanoi Highway in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City, submerged following a heavy rain in October. Photo by VnExpress

Millions of residents are hoping that life under water will become a thing of the past.

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have approved a flood prevention plan to dredge a major canal that will cost the southern hub VND1.85 trillion ($81 million).

The work along a 7.5km stretch of the Ba Lon Canal between Binh Chanh District and District 8 is expected to help control flooding in the south of the city.

Scheduled for completion by 2020, the project will also help to reduce pollution along the canal and will be connected to the city’s tidal flood defenses.

In June this year, the municipal government began work on a project to stem tidal flooding, which will cost more than $400 million. The project will help prevent flooding over 570 square kilometers that currently house around 6.5 million residents in the city center and along the Saigon River.

The project will include the construction of six major tidal gates, seven kilometers of embankments along a section of the Saigon River from the Vam Thuat River to the Kinh River, 68 small drainage systems, and pumping stations with a capacity of 12-24 cubic meters of water per second. Construction is expected to take three years.

A historic downpour on September 26 rendered the city’s drainage system almost useless, causing flooding on at least 60 streets of up to 80 centimeters. Thousands of cars and motorbikes in basement parking lots were left submerged.